


Sherlock's Academy for Young Geniuses

by MiaouMiaou



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: M/M, Sherlock doesn't want to work in a daycare, and john and him live together, as in John and Sherlock run a daycare, but he's still very smart, but secretly loves it, daycare AU, sherlock isn't a detective
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-30
Updated: 2014-08-08
Packaged: 2018-01-27 14:08:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1713380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiaouMiaou/pseuds/MiaouMiaou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock Holmes wasn't entirely sure as to why he ran a daycare with his best friend and flatmate, John Watson, but he did.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Opening Day

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Enjoy!

Sherlock Holmes wasn’t entirely sure as to why he ran a daycare with his best friend and flatmate, John Watson, but he did. John had wanted to name it something cutesy like “Bumblebee Academy” but Sherlock had vetoed. “If I’m helping, then I get to name it.” He had said. Besides, John had made all the rest of the decisions. Including the fact that Sherlock was going to be helping out with it.

“Fine.” John had groaned, obviously not sure about that. It was clear that John wasn’t sure if he would agree with Sherlock’s naming of the daycare, but if he wanted any help from the man, he knew that it was the only way. After all, Sherlock could be rather stubborn when he didn’t get what he wanted. “What’ll it be then?”

Sherlock hadn’t yet decided this. He had figured that John would say no. And Sherlock figured that he would be working part time at ‘Bumblebee Academy’. So Sherlock took a minute. Then he took two. Then he finally said, “Sherlock’s Academy for Young Geniuses” and that was that.

 

 

* * *

 

 

John was running around with worry on opening day. They already had kids signed up and they had checked and double checked everything the day before. Yet John was running around checking everything and muttering under his breath with worry.

Sherlock was sitting in the one adult sized armchair that they had in the place, right near the front, watching John run around with confusion and slight annoyance. “Everything is in place, John.” He told his friend.

“I know. It just- it just needs to be perfect.”

“They’re 5 year olds. They don’t care.”

“Sure they do.”

Sherlock sighed and let John go along with what he was doing.

It wasn’t until John opened the fridge for the 6th time to make sure that they had remembered to get apple juice that Sherlock stood up and sat John down in the armchair in his place. “John.”

“Sherlock.”

“Stop it.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

“Except concerning yourself about things that are completely fine. Look at this place John. A month and a half ago it was nothing but an empty building.” Now it was painted nicely with decorations on the wall and it was set up nicely with all sorts of things. Bookshelves, child sized tables, child sized chairs, a large rug on the floor and a number of books for young children along with dozens of toys. There was even a play kitchen complete with costumes and fake food. It was no longer an empty building; it was a daycare. And a nice one at that.

“Yeah, but I feel like we’re missing something.” John muttered, tapping his foot nervously.

Just then, the door opened and the bell that hung on the door handle jingled and John looked like he was about to faint from nerves. A voice called out, “Hello?” And Sherlock glanced towards the entryway.

“Perhaps we’re missing the children.” Sherlock said, and gave John a look before going to greet the children.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sherlock walked into the entryway and opened the door, looking at the child and his parent with scrutinizing eyes. “Hi.” The mother said, smiling. She was holding her son’s hand and he was hiding behind her a bit.

“Hello. I’m Sherlock Holmes.” Sherlock extended his hand, and the woman shook it.

“Marcy Norman.” The woman responded. “This is Bennett.” She gently pushed her son forward. “I know it’s his first day and all, but I was wondering if I would be okay if I didn’t stay long? I already talked to the other teacher... Watson? So I know what to expect, I just...”

“You’re running late.” Sherlock supplied as the woman continued to ramble. She nodded.

“Yeah, exactly. Thanks.” She squatted down and gave Bennett a hug and a kiss on the forehead before smiling. “I’ll be here at 5 to pick him up.” She informed Sherlock and then told Bennett, “Mommy will be back after work. Be good for Mr. Sherlock and Mr. Watson.” Then she left.

Immediately after she left, Bennett started wailing. Suddenly Sherlock had no idea what to do. He stood there, in shock for a minute before looking at the young boy and then saying sternly. “Stop that.”

No surprise, it didn’t work. Sherlock took a deep breath and then tried a different approach. He got down on his knees and looked at the boy. “Bennett.” He said. “Your mom will be back.” The looked at the man, as if he was considering this fact, and then continued to cry. Sherlock stood up and put his hands out in front of him. “Well, I don’t know then.”

John walked to them and looked at the boy and then at Sherlock. “What did you do, Sherlock?” John said as he sat down next to Bennett.

“Nothing.”

John looked skeptical, but then turned his attention to the crying boy. “Hi Bennett, do you remember me? I’m John, one of your teachers.” Bennett sniffled, still crying, but looked at John. “Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“M-m-mommy... I want Mommy!”

“She’ll come back, don’t worry. Until then we can have lots of fun here, okay?”

Bennett sniffled, then nodded slowly. John smiled. “Good. C’mon then, let’s get out of the doorway.” John stood up and took the boy’s hand. They walked to the playroom and Sherlock followed behind them.

“You seem calmer.”

John looked at Sherlock. “I suppose. I’m not really though. Still a bit nervous.” The other man shrugged and then watched as John got out coloring supplies and sat down at one of the small tables with Bennett and started to color with him.

 

 

* * *

 

 

By 9, all the children had arrived. There was Alicia Parker who was a cheery girl with her blonde hair up in pigtails. Alicia had made quick friends with Jackie Barnes who was very loud and liked to talk about her brand new dress. Then there was Javier Nelson and Anna Ward who had been dropped off together, as they were neighbors. Isaac Hale was a quiet boy who liked to draw and read. Larry Smith was quite the opposite, everything he said was close to a shout. But for some odd reason, Larry wanted Isaac to be his best friend. Then finally there was Tasha Emery who had hardly said a word to anyone but Sherlock and her father since she had been dropped off.

“That’s all of them, Sherlock. All 8.” John whispered to Sherlock, a smile on his face. Sherlock gave him a smile as well, one of the ones that he only gave to John, and then looked at the children, studying them for a moment.

John had them all sit down and tell their names around the circle, and he had them say their favorite color as well. It wasn’t until all the kids and John were looking at him that Sherlock realized that he was supposed to be participating as well. “Blue, I suppose.” He answered.

“Tell them your name too.” John said.

“I don’t see why I have to. I introduced myself to everyone when they came in.”

John gave him a look.

Sherlock sighed. “My name is Sherlock Holmes.”

Sherlock had been the last in the circle, because he spoke, John said, “Alright, that’s it. Do any of you have questions?” Which even Sherlock knew was a dumb question to ask 5 year olds, as they always had questions. Ridiculous ones.

Larry raised his hand and waved it around. “Yes Larry?”

“Why is John teacher when its called Sherlock?”

John gave Sherlock a look.

Sherlock sighed. He knew John had said that he would be expected to do more work if named the school after himself. Sherlock had said that was nonsense and brushed it off. Now John was giving him the look that said, “I told you so.”

“Well, that’s because Sherlock is very smart. So it seemed fitting that we name a school after him.” John explained. Sherlock scoffed. John rolled his eyes. “Go on and play, if you need anything ask either me or Sherlock.” Almost immediately the children got up and ran to go look at all the toys and art things around the classroom.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Sherlock.” John said from where he was sitting on the floor, letting Alicia and Jackie put various bows and clips into his hair. “Could you get lunch ready?”

Sherlock looked up from his book. “Do I have to?” He whined. John gave him a look. Sherlock sighed and got up and wandered to the small kitchen they had. He opened to fridge and pulled out the apple juice that certainly there, (John seemed to think that it might disappear) and all the cups they had. John had made sure that everything was in a variety of colors. That way all the children could have their own color and things wouldn’t get switched or confused. The cubbies were that way, the mats for napping, the cups and the plates and even the coat hangers. All the children already got their colors but Sherlock honestly doubted that they would remember that when it came to cups of juice.

Regardless, he poured the juice, aware that a few of the children were watching him, and then he got out bread and things to make sandwiches. John had been very clear that they couldn’t have peanuts, as Isaac was allergic, so the kids all had turkey and cheese sandwiches. (Sherlock wasn’t sure what John would have done if one of the kids had turned out to be vegetarian.) Then he put apple slices on the plates as well and laid them out on the table in the exact way John had told him to while they were going over everything.

Almost as soon as he finished setting the table, the kids had swarmed the table and sat down, some arguing about where they wanted to sit and what color plate they had. It was just petty arguments and it ended up with all 8 of the kids sitting at the table, eating and talking about everything.

Sherlock handed John a sandwich as well, and John muttered a thanks, standing beside Sherlock, leaning against the counter as he ate.

When the kids were done eating, John went off to get the napping mats from the box where they had been stored, and Sherlock picked up all the dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher.

By the time the kitchen was clean, John had set up all the mats on the ground. “Alright, well, it’s quiet time.” He told the children and some whined, but some seemed relieved. “You don’t have to sleep but you can. We’re going to turn the lights down. But if you want to get a book, you can.”

A few of the kids; Jackie, Alicia, and Larry hopped over to the bookshelves before they made their way slowly to the mats, as if trying to put it off. But Tasha and Isaac went straight to them, while the rest of the kids just seemed as if they didn’t want to go. None of them put up a fight for too long though, and then John turned down the lights and the daycare became quiet. Or well, quiet for a room full of 5 year olds. There was the occasional giggle or noise from one of the children, but eventually it grew quiet, as all of the kids had fallen asleep.

Sherlock relaxed into the armchair, watching as John smiled at each of the kids before walking over to Sherlock. “You were right.” He whispered. “I guess the only thing missing was the kids.”

The curly haired man smirked before giving John a look. “I’m always right, John. You know that. You should have never doubted me.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

The kids woke up from their nap around 2, and then John herded them outside, as it wasn’t raining and, living in London, it wouldn’t be that way everyday. They skipped around and shouted and played on the slide and swing set and the sandbox. It seemed as if they would never get tired.

But as it started to rain again, John had them all come inside, and then they had a snack and he let them have free reign to play whatever they choose.

At 4, John had them all group up on the rug again and he read them a story. At 4:30, he had them clean up the toys. Then at 5, when the kids were to be picked up, he pulled out a box of crayons and paper and laid them out for the children to play with until their parents arrived.

Then by 5:30, the last child was picked up, and Sherlock and John finished cleaning up before locking up their daycare and heading back to their flat.

 

 


	2. A Study in Snacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock and John have survived a week at the daycare. Then the food goes missing.

Somehow, Sherlock and John managed to survive the first week. The kids were not much trouble so far, and basically everything had gone smoothly. John was both relieved and surprised. Sherlock, on the other hand, was frustrated. He had hoped that perhaps something exciting would have happened. Of course, nothing did. The week went by fine. A couple scraped knees, a bruised arm or leg and a few squabbles. But that was just how children were. They argued for a short time and then got over it and they played hard and rough and fell and got hurt. Then got back up and kept playing. No harm done.

    What Sherlock had been hoping for though, was something exciting. He liked to figure out things, he liked to show off his intelligence. John didn’t seem to mind. But he had known quite a few people who did mind and got rather offended when Sherlock ever tried to make deductions. That was why he had never done anything with it. He didn’t mind if people knew about his ability to figure things out and notice things easily. He didn’t mind at all, in fact, he loved the attention and the chance to show off. However, it was a rare opportunity that he got to show off because pretty much everyone just told him, “piss off,” and went on with their own lives. They didn’t care if Sherlock Holmes was a genius, so he tried not to care about them either.

    So instead of taking advantage of his intelligence and making a career out of that (he could do a large number of things, why he didn’t was a complete mystery to John), Sherlock ended up finding a flat and then he met John, and they became flatmates. John had moved to London so he could open his own daycare. Of course, it had taken a while for that to actually get situated, so he ended up working elsewhere until it became a reality. He asked Sherlock for help, of course, because Sherlock was smart, logical and his best friend. That, and unemployed.

So that was how John’s daycare became Bumblebee Academy, then became Sherlock’s Academy for Young Geniuses.

However, Sherlock quickly realised that preschool age children were in fact not geniuses and instead liked to scribble on paper and chew on crayons and blocks and throw mud and paint their arms. That some of them could barely even write their own names. If he were to be accurate in describing the daycare, he would most definitely have to change the name of it. A name like ‘Bumblebee Academy’ seemed far more fitting. Not a school for ‘Young Geniuses’. Then again, he wasn’t going to admit that he was wrong. No, Sherlock was far too stubborn to do that.

So instead he decided that he was going to make these kids into geniuses. If that was at all possible.

* * *

 

 

John was very surprised when Sherlock wanted to leave early to the daycare on Monday morning. The last few days, he hadn’t wanted to go at all. But John wasn’t going to complain about it, seeing Sherlock wanting to do something was a very pleasant surprise. So they headed to the daycare very early, Sherlock carrying his violin and an assortment of other things. John didn’t bother asking.

    So while Sherlock was setting up for God knows what, John was busy getting ready for the day. He decided that they were going to do an art project so he got smocks and the art supplies out, and then made lunches. And he still had time left before any of the kids were dropped off. So he settled down into the armchair, intending to just relax for a short while, and fell asleep.

    He awoke to the sound of Sherlock’s violin. Rubbing his eyes and sitting up, John looked around to see that all 8 children had arrived, and were sitting in a circle, watching Sherlock play. They seemed almost hypnotized, and of course, why wouldn’t they be? Sherlock played beautifully. However, seeing that these children were young and had short attention spans, John figured that Sherlock had only been playing for a short while, even though the children had probably been there for close to half an hour already. It seemed likely that Sherlock had spent the majority of that time trying to get all of the children to sit down and cooperate.

    John stood up and yawned, rubbing his face and running his fingers through his hair. He listened silently to Sherlock’s playing and watched the children who were captivated. He watched Sherlock, who played elegantly and with meaning, even though it was only for children. Then the song ended and Sherlock looked up and smiled at John, one of the smiles that he only gave John, and then looked at the children.

    Jackie raised her hand then, her eyes wide. “Sheerrrlllll, can I try!” Then the rest of the children chimed in with, “Oh me too!” and “Pleeeeeeaasseee???”

    “Absolutely not.” Sherlock snapped. “And my name is Sher _lock_ , not Sherl.”

    “Well it’s like my name is Jacklyn but it’s Jackie.”

    “No, it’s not.”

    “Kinda. Can I pleaaaaaseeee try?” The little girl pouted. “Pretty please with ice cream on top?”

    “No.” Sherlock locked eyes with John with a look that said, “help me”. John chuckled.

    “Well, wasn’t that a lovely performance?” John said with a smile, and all of the kids turned to see John and the room erupted into noise.

    “Teacher John you’re awake!” Anna exclaimed, hopping up. “Hurray! Teacher Sherlock was being boring.”

    “I was _not._ ” Sherlock protested. John gave Sherlock a look.

    “Well, his music was very pretty though, now wasn’t it?” John continued. “It’s perfect now, because we’re going to work on an art project, alright?”

    Most of the children seemed to be very excited about this fact, and they all ran over to the art center of the daycare, where John had put out all the art supplies and then excitedly grabbed paper while John tried to get them all into smocks before they got paint all over their clothes. Once all the paper was passed out and all of the children were wearing smocks, (No thanks to Sherlock, he seemed to have disappeared.) John began to explain what they were doing.

    “We’re all going to paint something that we like a lot.” John said, as gave out paint and brushes.

    Jackie’s arm shot up. “Is our mom something that we like a lot?”

    With a smile, John replied, “Yes. Anyone that you like, your family, your friends, you can paint them. Or you can paint your favorite toy or place. Whatever you like, really. After we’re done, everyone can share.”

    Then the kids all began to paint and the daycare fell into a loud chatter as all the children felt the need to shout what they were painting and all the troubles they were having.

    John watched as they painted, helping out Tasha with the green paint that she managed to get in her hair and having to calm Larry down from yelling at Javier, who had used the red paint that Larry wanted.

    After a while, most of the kids seemed done (Anna and Isaac had decided that they were human canvases) so John said, “Alright, does anyone want to share their painting?”

    Most of the children’s hands shot up. So John let them take turns. Larry had painted himself and Isaac playing rugby, Javier’s painting was of his family, and so was Anna’s. Tasha had drawn her best friend, Isaac had drawn the beach. Alicia had drawn Jackie and Jackie had drawn Alicia. Bennett had painted Sherlock playing the violin.

    John wondered where Sherlock was.

    He sent the kids to go wash their hands, and hung up all the pictures on the wall, smiling. He was fairly sure that Sherlock would appreciate Bennett’s drawing. That was, as long as he didn’t criticize the young boy’s drawing ability. Even Sherlock, however, was reasonable enough to know not to.

    But seriously, where had Sherlock gone?

    Now that the kids were all relatively clean, John got them to all sit down in a circle like Sherlock had had them in that morning. He picked up a book, prepared to read a story to them, when Sherlock walked in through the front door.

    “Sorry about that, John.” Sherlock said, walking over to the man, making quite a show. “I got a call.”

    “That’s fine, you don’t have to apologize.” John replied, very confused.

    “Well, see, it related to the daycare.”

    “What?”

    Sherlock shook his head disapprovingly and then dramatically pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. “Someone has stolen all of our food.”

    The kids all gasped, some looking worried, some looking upset and some looking confused. John was just as confused as well. “Sherlock, no one stole our food, I made lunch this morning.”

    Sherlock gave John a look and then handed him the paper. “Read this then. I already checked the fridge.” John returned Sherlock’s look and took the paper, reading it. “Read it out loud, John. We all need to hear.”

    The kids seemed interested now, trying to figure out what had happened. Their loud chattering had quieted down to only a few whispers amongst themselves.

    “Right, whatever.” John said, looking at the note and then reading it out loud. “If you want your food, you’ll have to find it! Signed, H.” He gave Sherlock another very confused look. “Is this a ransom note for _food_?” He whispered. Sherlock rolled his eyes.

    “John, play along.” He whispered, and then he looked at the children. “Well, we have to eat.” He told them. They all nodded in agreement.

    “We gotsta find the food!”

    “Yeah, Teacher John, Teacher Sherlock! We got to!”

    Sherlock looked as if he was considering this thought carefully. “Yes, I suppose we do. That is what the note says.”

    The children all jumped to their feet, spreading out and checking all the shelves.

    “It’s not here!”

    “It’s not _anywhere._ ”

    Sherlock frowned and then looked at John and then back at the children. “Maybe we should look for clues.”

    “Yeah!”

    “For clues!”

    “Clues!”

    John nodded and then stood up, starting to understand this game a bit better. Sherlock made a face, exaggerating the fact that he was deep in thought. “Where would we find a clue about where the food is...?” He asked the kids.

    “Oh! Oh! The police!”

    “No, the kitchen!”

    “Oh yeah, the kitchen.”

    Sherlock nodded. “That’s brilliant. The kitchen. The last place we know for sure the food was at.”

    All 8 children rushed to the kitchen as quickly as possible, and opened up the fridge, which was, as Sherlock had claimed, empty.

    “There’s no food!”

    “There used to be.”

    “Where did it go?”

    “That’s what we’re finding out!”

    “Do you see any clues?” Sherlock interrupted, putting Larry and Alicia’s argument to a halt. For a short moment, all of the children fell quiet, searching. Then Isaac’s hand shoots into the air excitedly.

    “I found something!” He exclaimed, showing Sherlock the ball of fuzz he had picked up from inside the fridge. “Look it’s hair!”

    “No it’s not! It’s just fuzz!”

    Sherlock looked down to examine this clue. “It looks like it might be fur.”

    “What has fur that could take our food?” John asked, once again, confused.

    “Good question, John. What has fur?”

    Once again, many hands were raised, but all the children just shouted out their answers.

    “Dogs.”

    “Cats.”

    “Hamsters!”

    “Uhhh, tigers.”

    “And bears! Oh bears!”

    “Also monkeys!”

    Sherlock nodded, looking at the ball of fuzz and then at each of the children. “A hamster is too small to steal all of that food.”

    “Maybe the _owner_ stole the food and just brought their animal with!”

    “Good thinking, Anna.” Sherlock noted, concentrating for a long moment. It was obvious that all of this was an act, Sherlock was way overexaggerating all of his movements and actions. The children were loving it though. John was impressed. “Who do we know who has a pet?”

    “I have a dog!” Javier said, waving his hand wildly. Then his eyes widened and he shook his head quickly. “But it wasn’t me! I didn’t steal the food!”

    “It couldn’t have been any of you.” John said. “You were all painting when it was stolen.”

    “Teacher John, do you have a pet?” Tasha asked quietly. John couldn’t say he wasn’t surprised. Tasha rarely said anything. It was good that she was finally getting more involved.

    “No, I don’t.” John said. “But I was there painting as well, so it couldn’t have been me.”

    She made a face that looked like she was trying to imitate Sherlock’s dramatic thinking face. “Wait! What if they are tryinta trick us! Maybe they had fur on their clothes ‘cause they pet a dog on the street!”

    Sherlock chuckled, giving John a look and a smile. John nodded, acknowledging Sherlock’s look. “That’s a very good point, Tasha.” Sherlock said, nodding. “Well, let’s think about that too.”

    Javier’s face lit up as he exclaimed, “Wait! Only Teacher Sherlock was here and left!”

    All 8 children turned to look at Sherlock. He smiled slightly and shrugged. “Yes, but it wasn’t me.”

    “It had to be!” Isaac said.

    Larry shouted, “Get him!” And there were 8 children grabbing Sherlock and holding him down as he tried to run away.

    “Yeah it has to be you anyway ‘cause it was signed with ‘H’ and your name is Holmes.” Jackie declared, sitting on Sherlock’s leg.

    “Where’s the food, stealer!?” Alicia demanded, tugging on his arm.

    Sherlock laughed. “It’s outside.” He said, trying to sit up with no prevail. The kids had him held down pretty well, and even John was sitting on the floor, holding down Sherlock’s feet and laughing. “That was a test to see how good of detectives you were.”

    “We’re the best detetives!”

    “De _tect_ ives.”

    “The best detectives!”

    John laughed. “Yeah, you are. Come on now, let’s go eat.”

 

* * *

 

 

    Back at 221B that night, eating take-out, John looked up at Sherlock and said, “You know that thing you did today? That was brilliant.”

    Sherlock smiled. “Thanks, John.” He paused for a moment in thought and then declared, “Next week, there’s going to be a murder.”   

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long wait! I meant to update earlier, but then I was gone for a month. Oops. Hope that you enjoyed! Leave a comment if you want, I read them all!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it so far.
> 
> I'll update soon (hopefully).
> 
> Leave comments and any ideas you have. I need some filler stuff and ideas are much appreciated.


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